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Harsh Ride 2015 Silverado LT

Mountaineers89

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Mountaineers89 Enthusiast

Mountaineers89

Posted
Posted

This is my first post on here, but have checked posts occasionally. I bought a new 2015 Silverado LT double cab 4x2 about 7 months ago. It is not a Z71 and has the stock black shocks on it. I have noticed the ride is extremely harsh when going over small imperfections in the road. One bridge in particular on the way to work is very jarring where the asphalt meets the concrete. It seems to be bad when there is a difference in height in the road. At highway speeds the truck seems to ride fine and handles imperfections in the road. I have seen similar posts on here, but they normally are trucks with 20" wheels. I have stock 17" wheels on my truck with stock Bridgestone tires. All the tires are at 35 psi as recommended on the door sticker. I drive company F-150s home occasionally and they handle this bridge and other imperfections with no troubles. Is this normal for these trucks or could something be wrong? If is normal, what could help with this? I saw many people recommend the Bilstein 5100's, but I wasn't sure if they would help with this issue.

Grumpy Bear Senior Enthusiast

Grumpy Bear

Posted
Posted

You are not alone. Mine is a jackhammer under like conditions. Smooth as silk on the Interstate but tar snakes and bridge approaches leave it snake bit. It has calmed down a bit as I add some miles.

 

Some thoughts to consider. Trucks are built to carry a load. As such they are sprung and dampened to do that job first, your comfort is second. Meaning for use as a daily driver they are over sprung and over dampened. Tire sidewalls meant to carry the maximum load are stiff in the sidewall. All of that is fixable. All of it requires a compromise.

 

IMHO. I'm no expert.

last truck Enthusiast

last truck

Posted
Posted

the bilstiens 5100 are a very firm shock and will make the ride worse. I think it is the tires.

15 Z71 Senior Enthusiast

15 Z71

Posted
Posted

the bilstiens 5100 are a very firm shock and will make the ride worse. I think it is the tires.

Do the bilstiens ride as firm or firmer then the ranchos that come on the z71?
Retired Bob Enthusiast

Retired Bob

Posted
Posted

This is a very common issue. I have a '14 LT Double Cab - all stock and mine behaves the same as yours. I'm considering switching to Michelin tires but I'm not ready to pay the price yet. I did carry 2 50# bags of builders sand in the bed next to the tailgate and that helped but they eventually ripped so they are now gone and the bumps are back. I don't believe there is much you can do by swapping parts - it's they way they are with all the weight reduction that goes into today's build.

Willyone Enthusiast

Willyone

Posted
Posted

My '16 Z71 1500 rides more like my old '89 2500 than a 1/2 ton. Damn thing rides like a frigg'n truck!! LOL. I might change to a more wimpy shock at some point in the future.

Brianibew Enthusiast

Brianibew

Posted
Posted

Do the bilstiens ride as firm or firmer then the ranchos that come on the z71?

I put 4600 series Bisteins all the way around and didn't like the way the rear end felt...too stiff when driven with no load in the bed. The front felt great with the 4600 Bils. I found a pair of non-z71 non-max towing black shocks on eBay that were take offs. Put them on the rear, and it rode real nice. I went to the dealer, found the same truck as mine that was a non z71, and got the rear shock numbers off them and then found them on eBay for cheap. Hope this helps.

Willyone Enthusiast

Willyone

Posted
Posted

I put 4600 series Bisteins all the way around and didn't like the way the rear end felt...too stiff when driven with no load in the bed. The front felt great with the 4600 Bils. I found a pair of non-z71 non-max towing black shocks on eBay that were take offs. Put them on the rear, and it rode real nice. I went to the dealer, found the same truck as mine that was a non z71, and got the rear shock numbers off them and then found them on eBay for cheap. Hope this helps.

 

Well done :o) Than you!!

ShamrockShooter Senior Enthusiast

ShamrockShooter

Posted
Posted

The ride on mine is much better with the 200 lb leer truck cap on the back. It is also possible to have one bad shock and not know it. When I went to put a lift on my last chevy one of the rear shocks was blown by 10k miles and I didn't even realize it.

  • 2 weeks later...
Gofas Enthusiast

Gofas

Posted
Posted

Yep, look under for leaky shocks. I complained to my dealer about the ride. They said truck was fine. Not even a week later I found rear shocks leaking with less than 10k. I replaced with 4600's. Ride is firm but love the responsiveness. I was scared to put in the time replacing with oem shock in fear of them blowing out again quickly.

Grumpy Bear Senior Enthusiast

Grumpy Bear

Posted
Posted

Hauled 200#'s of bagged salt home for the softener. Placed very close to the tail gate. Did it make it plush? Not at all. Did it help? Oh yes it did. Moved it from harsh to very firm. Much the same effect as Shamrock Shooter's bed cap I expect. (Post #11).

 

It begs the question. What did this change "effectively"? Spring rate, I opine. One can modify the ride with tires and shocks but to change it, the spring rate needs to be addressed. IMHO.

 

The weight placed this far back in the box compressed the springs about an inch moving the travel of the shock down a matching inch away from the top of it's travel. Which is where it sits when we have no load. Trucks meant to carry a load have shock lengths meant to be effective when carrying that load....not so much empty. Again...IMHO.

 

Just thinking out loud.

Haus_Z71 Enthusiast

Haus_Z71

Posted
Posted

Yep, look under for leaky shocks. I complained to my dealer about the ride. They said truck was fine. Not even a week later I found rear shocks leaking with less than 10k. I replaced with 4600's. Ride is firm but love the responsiveness. I was scared to put in the time replacing with oem shock in fear of them blowing out again quickly.

I suppose that's pretty easy to tell by looking at them?

*edit - I just looked. They are completely dry, no leaking.

 

My rancho shocks felt great the first 5k miles. But after the first winter, they really stiffened up and don't feel the same.

 

Also, everything I've read would state that Billstein 5100's ride better than the Rancho. But people are saying they are stiffer?

Willyone Enthusiast

Willyone

Posted
Posted

I put 4600 series Bisteins all the way around and didn't like the way the rear end felt...too stiff when driven with no load in the bed. The front felt great with the 4600 Bils. I found a pair of non-z71 non-max towing black shocks on eBay that were take offs. Put them on the rear, and it rode real nice. I went to the dealer, found the same truck as mine that was a non z71, and got the rear shock numbers off them and then found them on eBay for cheap. Hope this helps.

 

By chance, do you still have the part number for those non-Z71 rear shocks?

 

Thanks!! (o:

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